Page 91 of Rookie Days

“Is Dr Elliott okay?” Janet inquired as she followed suit.

“Yes, she’s fine. But we just had a visitor.”

Elliott’s room was on the same floor and it only took thirty seconds to get there. Ellie noticed that the security officer looked hyped. She stood with her right hand over her weapon.

“It was a Dr Barnes,” she revealed intently. “He said you’d asked him to check on Dr Elliott.”

“I certainly did not. I don’t even know a Dr Barnes,” Janet said sharply.

“Okay. Well, he knew your name. He came right up to me. He had ID. And he didn’t look like your suspect…” She directed this one at Ellie.

“Describe him.”

“Blond, blue eyes, glasses.”

“Anybody can throw on a wig and some contact lenses,” Ellie retorted. “Where did he go?”

“When I pulled out my phone to call you, he took the stairs. About a minute ago.”

Ellie went through the door and gazed down the middle of the stairwell. Some eight floors below, she did spot a moving shape.Gotcha!She flew after him and also called Dispatch on her phone.

“I’m at Lewiston General in pursuit of Robert Hayes,” she advised. “On foot. The suspect may be armed. I need support.”

“Understood Detective,” came the instant reply.

She burst through the exit door with her gun secure in both hands and almost tripped over a discarded lab coat and a pair of glasses. He’d ditched the disguise in a hurry. She heard sirens in the distance. Hopefully, backup. The parking lot looked empty but she knew that it wasn’t.

“Hayes,” she shouted. “You’re done! Come out with—”

The sound of screeching tires made her whip around.Shit!Blinded by the headlights of a car racing toward her, she barely had time to raise her weapon. Still, she hit bullseye on one of the lights. Did not risk aiming through the windshield because she could not be totally sure that he was on his own. Also, there was no time for another shot. And she wanted him alive. She rolled under a nearby SUV to avoid being hit, which the fleeing driver rammed before speeding to the exit. Ellie, with one knee down in a combat position, shot one of the tires. It was not enough to stop him.

“Suspect is on the run in a black BMW,” she yelled into her phone. “Reg 742DQL. Just coming out on Crawley Street. Where is my backup?”

As the BMW vanished around the corner, she stepped into the middle of the street and flashed her badge at an approaching cruiser.

“Go, go!” she urged as it slowed down to allow her to leap onboard. “He took the next right.”

Rush hour traffic was always crazy in this part of town but the officer behind the wheel displayed great skill weaving in and out of lanes packed with early-morning commuters.

“There he is!” Ellie kept up her commentary for other units on the radio. “Tearing down Field Street. Now left on Jefferson.” They got lucky. A delivery truck doing a three-point turn in themiddle of the road there had brought everyone to a standstill and the BMW had no choice but to slow down. Ellie hissed as Hayes kicked the door open and flew out of his car like a bullet. “Suspect is back on foot!”

She tossed the radio at the patrol cop and let him take over. Just up ahead, she could see Hayes, sprinting down the middle of Jefferson. He had quite a good lead on her but this was why she trained. From the corner of her eye as she whizzed by, Ellie also clocked another police car and two officers jumping out to join the chase. Laden with gear, they wouldn’t be as fast as her, but it was nice to know that they were there. Ellie crossed the street after Hayes and jumped back on the sidewalk when he did. She briefly lost sight of him as he went around another corner, but soon picked him up again.

“Move! Move!” She pushed through people waiting in front of a café and knocked back a guy who tried to slow her down. “Police! Get out of the way!”

She watched her suspect nearly collide with a woman in a wheelchair, and stumble. He was clearly spent.Almost there!She was so close, already looking forward to slapping cuffs on his wrists, when her world turned upside down.UMPH!Something crashed into her and sent her flying. Pain flared across her torso. The violence of the impact knocked all the air out of her lungs. Ellie hit the ground and rolled a couple of times before coming to rest in the gutter. Winded, you bet. Her vision swam. Black dots danced in front of her eyes. It took her a few more seconds before she spotted a guy in a dark suit and tie, wearing a bicycle helmet, also sprawled on the floor.Dammit!Hayes would be long gone after this. She managed to sit up and turned to check on the downed commuter.

“Hey man. You okay?”

Far from being apologetic, or concerned about her, he just stared back in fury.

“Are you crazy? No, I’m not okay! My suit is ruined! And look at my back wheel! I’m calling the cops.”

Clutching at her stomach, wincing in genuine pain as she staggered back to her feet unassisted, Ellie shoved her badge in his snarling face.

“I’m the cops. Now your suit is ruined and a murderer just escaped. Get out of here before I arrest you for obstruction of justice and assaulting a police officer.”

“What the hell—”

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